The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) announces Dr. Phyllis Shand as the 2021 AMSA Industry & Organizational Leadership Award recipient. The AMSA Industry & Organizational Leadership Award was established to recognize those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in an area related to the meat industry. The Industry & Organizational Leadership Award is sponsored by Smithfield Foods Inc. Shand will be honored during the 74th AMSA Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) awards presentation on August 17, 2021, in Reno, Nevada, hosted by the University of Nevada – Reno.

Dr. Phyllis Shand is a Professor of Meat and Food Science in the Department of Food and Bioproduct Sciences, University of Saskatchewan. Shand is an internationally known and respected meat scientist specializing in meat science research ranging from fresh meat quality to further processing and novel ingredients. 

“She has been a champion of the Canadian meat industry, developing relationships with agricultural groups, industry, institutions, people, and companies to address challenges and facilitate solutions. Her innovative applied research has benefited companies manufacturing processed products,” says, Dr. Elizabeth Boyle, Professor and Extension Meat Science Specialist, Kansas State University.

Her research collaborations have been with diverse animal scientists, muscle biochemists, plant scientists, nutritionists, and engineers.  Included her collaborative contributions to large team grants on beef tenderness and postmortem tenderization strategies (industry-driven), PSE pork and turkey, cold stress physiology and meat quality related to transportation of chickens, and value addition of meats through the use of pulse-based ingredients such as heat-treated lentil flour (now in commercial production).  She is sought after as an expert in meat processing and ingredient functionality. She is one of the original 12 members of the editorial board of Meat and Muscle Biology. 

Dr. Shand says she is “most proud of the students and junior faculty that I have mentored and of the industry research collaborations and training I've provided.”

Source: AMSA